Premedical enrichment program at East Carolina University School of Medicine

The Summer Program for Future Doctors, which started in 1978 at East Carolina University School of Medicine, prepares underrepresented-minority (URM), disadvantaged, and nontraditional students for admission to medical school. The annual eight-week program, sponsored by the school's Academic Support and Counseling Center and funded by the school, is a two-pronged program targeting both premedical and pre-matriculating students. The program has 24 openings per year, with priority accorded to students matriculating at the medical school the following fall. The program covers learning strategies, test-taking skills, reading and comprehension tests, MCAT preparation, contemporary issues in the medical environment, scientific writing, communication skills, and medical school applications. Students who have demonstrated strong performances and consistent improvement in the summer program are likely to gain admission to medical school and perform satisfactorily, especially in their first year. Data collected from 1994-1997 indicate that of the 69 participants, 51 (74%) had applied to medical school, and 24 (47%) of them had been admitted, with 15 of these (63%) being URMs. In these four years of the program, there were twice as many women as men among the 69 participants, of which 60% were African Americans, 20% whites, 13% Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, 3% Native Americans, and 2% Hispanics. Although most of these participants pursued medical education, 12 chose other health professions; 13 students were in or had completed graduate school in basic science programs; and seven had not yet completed their under graduate degrees, although most planned to apply to medical school within the next few years.